"Let's go out and celebrate."
I lifted my head. "Why?"
"He's up," Dave made me a cocktail. "Instead of being happy you look more depressed. Let's forget everything and get drunk tonight."
I laughed emptily. "We've been getting drunk every night of the past weeks. Why are you saying it like we haven't in a long time?"
"Figure of speech." He smiled at me, exposing two of his side teeth.
I took in a deep breath, held it in for a couple of seconds, and let it out slowly. It didn't help sooth my restless mind hence I sighed.
"Talk to me." Dave handed me a shot and took a seat on the couch next to me.
"I don't know. I just feel something is weird." I stared at the lemon scented drink in my glass.
"The fire?" He took a sip from his glass and I did the same.
"Yes," I sighed again. Something about the two incidents wasn't adding up. Could the smoke really knock me out for a whole week? How about Ash? He seemed like a tough guy. Could the smoke really knock him out for three weeks?
And my brother... what about the new guy? Was he the one that Ash had spoken about? The one coming after them? I would ask Ash when I saw him again. Speaking of him, what business did he have to attend to before recovering?
"Adey?"
"I... My brother... They got injured at the same time. They..."
"You're like that because the concept of losing them both frightened you." Dave told me, lifting his eyebrows such that lines appeared on his forehead. "It was a coincidence."
"I want to believe that but what if..." I chewed on the lower part of my lip before continuing. "What Ash said before..."
"About their past catching up?" He asked and I nodded. "You think someone is after their lives?"
I nodded again. "Why did that guy show up during their incident?"
"Darling," Dave scooted closer and rested his arm over my shoulders. "No one is after them. Ash used a faulty appliance and your brother ate something his friend brought in from abroad that he didnt know he was allergic to. Okay?"
I leaned against him.
"Have you ever experienced a situation in the exam in which you knew the answer at first try but when you come back a while later it seems totally nonsensical?"
I frowned at him and burst out laughing. "Why'd you have to ruin the mood?"
Grinning triumphantly, he said. "I figured I had to speak your language." He shrugged. "Life is the most simple thing ever, but the human mind is way too advanced it can not deal with simple things. That's why we tend to overthink everything."
"Weird how you sound like you're making sense but weird and creepy." I pushed away from him and drained my glass in one go. My face twisted at the sour aftertaste of my drink and he found that funny.
"Let's go, you'll thank me later."
.....
"Spin the bottle?" I asked amazed. "I didn't know people still played that."
"Do you want to join?" Leo took my hand. "Come."
"No," El freed my hand from Leo's grip. "It might be spin the bottle but it's not what it looks like."
"Don't be boring. A game is a game, she came out to have fun." Leo told him taking my hand again.
"Leo..." El started but I cut him off.
"I want to try so I can play it with my friends when I learn." I said and turned to Leo. "Let's go."
"We can teach you. Adey..." El was saying but I was already skipping along with Leo.
El was nice but why on earth should he be so controlling? He was always with, Adey you can't do this, No don't do that, You shouldn't let her do those. If I hadn't known better I'd have thought he was put in my life by my brother to watch over me, but my brother let me do whatever I pleased whenever I wanted.
"Sit here." Leo created space for us around the circle. It reeked of sweet smoke from the vapers and pipes the players were holding.
In the center was a sectioned chart with written words but I didn't mind that. I was there for the game, not some graphs.
The spinning bottle came to a halt pointing at two people. I waited to hear them chanting 'Kiss, kiss,' but rather the person at the bottom side of the bottle leaned over to read something from the chart.
"Six R, how hard are they?" He read and the players seemed exited.
The person at which the mouth of the bottle pointed smiled shyly.
"What's that?" I asked Leo who seemed excited.
"The sixth person at her right is going to squeeze her boobs."
"Huh?" I gasped out loud and the guy at my left eyed me.
"I smell a newbie. How do you do?" The guy asked examining my whole body in one go. I felt exposed.
"I'm cool." I responded lowering my gaze.
"How sweet." He smiled and turned back to the couple that was the center of attention.
The sixth guy had both his hands under her shirt with his eyes closed. Then he smiled, as his hands kept moving. He opened his eyes. "Should we keep playing or do you want to take a break?" He asked her.
"Why does that sound like he's asking her for sex?" I thought out loud and the guy at my left brought his mouth down to my ear, his breath warm on my skin.
"Because he is asking her for sex." He said just as the two left the circle.
The bottle was spinning again and someone read. "Fifteen R, does it taste better off the skin?"
The whole circle roared while Leo laughed. He was the fifteenth person to the right of the guy at whom the bottle pointed.
The guy at my left said to me. "He's going to lick the wine off his lower belly and out the belly button. This will be fun."
"Two guys? He's a guy... they..." I asked wide eyed.
"That's what makes it fun." He replied as the chosen guy removed his shirt and lay on his back at the center of the circle. "He's actually lucky he's not the one lying down."
On all fours, Leo crawled up to between his legs such that the guys legs were on either side of him and hesitated. The little crowd cheered him on and he took the bottle which he poured on the guy's belly.
"Lick it up! Lick it up! Lick it up!"
"Are there no exceptions?" I asked the guy next to me.
"No." He said. "A game is a game. They can only switch positions. Are you scared?"
I watched as Leo lowered his head and ran his tongue over the guy's skin, tracing the lines of the drink he had just poured him. The guy had his eyes squeezed shut and I couldn't figure out whether he was enjoying it or being tormented by it.
The game was shockingly cruel.
After the next round, someone read, "Ten L, how does he taste?"
The noise that erupted was louder than that of Leo's time.
"That's you." Leo said excitedly.